NOTE: We have reorganized our TDY Gouge for faster downloads.
(Green print = Nice Hotel, Red = Bates Motel, Purple=bar/restaurant, )
= Baseops Pick - a Hotel taking top honors, great service and facilities for crew dogs.

Fallon AFB, NV - Since most crews are in Fallon for a month you can do it all but it get's expensive. First you need wheels. Reno and Carson City are an hour away. There is a ton to do in Reno, gamble at the Bird Farm in Fallon for craps lessons then hit the strip in Reno to loose big money. Mens Club downtown Reno has the best looking dancers you have ever seen but is really pricey. The Midnight Roper in Fallon is great unless the Airwing is intown. Then there are 7 guys per girl. Hit the gun/liquer/porn shop on the end of town for the best price on booze. Rent a 4x4 and hit the desert to tear it up. Tons of trails allover! Fallon's not bad if you have wheels.

Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV - Don't stay at Super 8 if they try to put you up here.  And don't let the billeting office tell you they can't move you, they can, but they will want a reason in writing.  The place is right out side the front gate, and is a real dump. Crew rest will be impossible due to all the cars parking 3 feet from your door.    Barcelona Hotel (right outside the gate - what a roachmotel).  Stay downtown - make reservations EARLY.  Hotel for Las Vegas is the Royal Hotel and Casino - It's on the contract quarters list and is close to everything.  The Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino is still reasonable on prices and a good spot to party.  Radisson "New Frontier" (702)794-8200 is an older hotel with acceptable rooms. Big plus = right on the strip. The Normal Clubs, restaurants, and casino stuff are downstairs. When you call about price you can talk to the manager and get a Military rate. Another place to to check would be Circus Circus (same type of Hotel). Do not stay at Vacation Village - it's nasty, carpet sticks to your feet and rooms cost $70!  UPDATE: World Trade Center =No longer a viable option...will be closing after 31 Apr 01. Apparently the owner told the gambling commission to "pack sand" and as a result lost it's gambling license. No license, no business, no hotel. Also, during the first wk of April 01, 3 murders within a block of the hotel. Hotel scheduled for demolition at end of April or May 2001.  Residence Inn Hughes Center (1 800 331 3131) is great and only 1 mile from Bally's (East on Paradise).  Mon-Thurs: free beer (MGD) and dinner in the evening.  Free breakfast in the mornings.  Inconvenient to Nellis, but then again, it's VEGAS, BABY!  Big room, kitchen, pool fair jogging area.  Gov't rate- NO PROBLEM ($72).  Nevada Palace is the worst place I've ever stayed! The rooms smelled like they haven't been cleaned in over a month and when you walked on the carpet your feet stuck to it. San Remo Hotel & Casino (702-739-9000 / Tropicana Blvd) is decent, but it's located only a hundred yards off the Strip, within a 5 minute walk of MGM Grand, New York, NY, and the Tropicana. Room rates are well within the perdiem rate and the 2 for 1 happy hour rocks...~We were put in the San Remo by Nellis billeting. It's a cut rate casino hotel. Not too bad for food and rooms, but who bitches about rooms on the strip anyhow? It is right across from the MGM Grand and NY/NY. Say no more. When we were getting the non A's from billetting I let them suggest this joint. I'm not sure if acting coy helped or if we could have better dealed it.~Stratosphere is an excellent Hotel and Casino! Tons of stuff to do in the area. 5 minute cab ride to Cheetah's. Viva Lost Wages. ~MGM Grand (702-891-7777) was Awesome! Great rooms within per diem, 7 days a week. Food in hotel is expensive, but a lot to choose from. Just a few miles from Signature FBO. Take cab ($7) or rent car from FBO. Free valet parking. ~Luxor 1-888-777-0188 was great!  Flew in for an overnight (student cross country). Signature Flight Svc screwed up our fuel order and didn't fuel us until we showed up to depart the next morning! Get a reduced rate from the Luxor through Signature.. only $75/night. Nice room on 9th floor with great view of "The Strip." Service was good, room was clean, 2 queen beds per room so if you can stand to split the room, it's a great deal! Y'all have plenty of "to-do" info for Vegas, so I won't bore you with more. ~Be very careful dealing with Las Vegas Signature Flight Support / Casper Executive Services. An Alaska ANG C-130 recently stopped at McCarran using the gov't contract holder, Signature Flight Support for RON parking and fuel services. During trip set-up we had Signature reserve lodging for the aircrew using the pilot's credit card to guarantee the rooms. After arriving at KLAS the Signature crew bus took the aircrew to the hotel where they thought their reservations were. A month later the pilot's credit card bill had an additional charge for another hotel. He was charged a "no-show" at the Doubletree Inn, the initial reservation was made by Signature Flight Services at the Hampton Inn. The charge was disputed, but The Doubletree Inn will not drop the charges and Signature will not intervene and pressure the Doubletree Inn to drop the 7 no-show charges. Signature claims they sent out a FAX with the reservation changes, but have no proof of transmission. Their response now is "that person doesn't work here anymore", but the charges are still there.

~Las Vegas Travelodge 1-702-733-0001 was A Dump.  This is the Travelodge on W. Sahara Avenue (there are three near the strip), and it was a total roach motel!  I think even the roaches left since I didn't see any.  My room smelled like somebody had just taken a piss in the corner, was hot and the air conditioner didn't help much.  It was only 85 that day, I can't imagine what it's like in the summer!  It's not too far from the Strip, but it's impossible to walk there since there's fenced-off yards and railroad tracks between the hotel and the Strip.  Plus, the clientele looked  like the folks in the mutant bar in Total Recall.  Stay away!  On a brighter note, I talked with the Group Sales department at the Las Vegas Hilton, they will give you a government rate any day of the week with no minimum stay required.  Talk to Ryan Leibowitz in Group Sales, his phone is 702-732-5879.  Unfortunately, they were sold out when we were in town, but Ryan said he'd take care of USAF crews if he's got vacancy.   ~We got put in the LaQuinta on Paradise.  Great rooms with fridge, microwave, in-room jacuzzi.  Nice workout room and big, clean pool.  Across the street from Gordon Biersch, down the road from PF Changs, next to Morton's.  Free continential breakfast.  On the approved list, $72/night. Shuttle to strip.

~Palace Station was a dump! Highly recommend that you stay elsewhere. One of our crew members got fleas from the sheets! He was given a $50 comp and new sheets. will never stay here again.  ~I'm just a bottom dwelling scum sucking low life contractor (I work for Boeing), but I noticed something in the Nellis portion of the TDY gouge. The Hard Rock Casino is one of the best places for eye candy, but you must NEVER gamble there. I have been there many times and I have never seen any of my friends win. I don't know how they do it, but the house always seems to win. My buddies win at other casino's, but never at Hard Rock. I watched three of them lose $1400 in a matter of less than 10 minutes. Although this provided me with great amusement, they were not as happy.   I guess my advice would be to be very careful when gambling there.  Watch the tables for awhile before trying anything!

Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque NM - After being told we were not able to get on base TLF for a 3 month TDY, we checked into the Southwest Suites. They are fully furnished corporate apartment suites. They do offer a military discount. Very nice apartments with maid service and very nice complexes.  Call Joyce Row 1-800-342-3820 local 505-294-7632.  The Candlewood Suites hotel specializes in long term stays. It has efficiency and one bedroom apartments available at the government rates. They include stoves and full size fridge as well as full cable TV. The also have a separate line for the internet. Its about 15-20 minutes from the base and there are numerous restaurants in the immediate area. Weight room and wash room on the premises. Marriott (on Louisiana St.) had gorgeous rooms. Good location in relation to restaurants. The bar is top notch. They have no problem giving out free drinks when you start drinking enough. Bar closes at midnight, but Bennigans is stumbling distance outside of hotel doors. This hotel is highly recommended. Never tried to work any special deals with the sales department. However, it seems as though they really appreciate military customers, and would be amenable. At the Old Town Sheraton - decent might be a stretch, but the rooms were decently decorated. The front desk personnel were pretty incompetent. They lost my first reservations. Luckily, I called before we left to make additional reservations. Once there though, they didn't have keys for us. Then, on checkout, they mixed up the rooms and bills. Nice feature is a 25 meter outdoor heated pool. Laps are a bit difficult to do because shallow end is maybe 2 ft deep. There is a Lotaburger (McDonald's imitation) right out doors, and a Starbuck's coffee shop 1/4 mile north on Rio Grande (great for waking up in morning). Other than that, no good bars or restaurants in walking distance. Kind of a dumpy part of town. Only 13 minutes to base.  Radison Hotel @ Convention Center(Carlisle Ave) 505-888-3311 is a great hotel with a FULL service fitness center. Great bar/pub with Guinness and numerous great brews. If you call Debbie (Sales Mgr) you can obtain a TWO floor suite (downstairs/living room (for planning) and upstairs/bedroom at Govt contract rate. Near Central (Route 66) party locations, within 1 mile of two major malls, plenty of great places to eat. This is where the commercial flight crews (read stewardess go to). Sales manager: 505-889-4906.  At the Ramada Inn Mountainview (Hotel Circle NE), we had people with bloodstained bed sheets, no heat (in January), and some soothing highway noise 24 hours/day.  Recommend you avoid any hotel in this area. Uptown Sheraton was not bad, but below average for a sheraton, (505)881-0000, corner of Lousianna & Maneaul. "Contract" rate was $65/night. Small bar downstairs off the lobby. Quiet, doesn't stay open very late though. Didn't use the restaurant. Best deal is Assets Grill, a brew-pub with great southwestern food, up Lousianna to the north a mile or so, then just to the left on Montgomery. Bennigan's south of the hotel about 1/2 mile on the left. ~Try Kelly's. It is a Microbrew/restaurant Near the University of New Mexico. Average food, average price but the 24 microbrews on tap that are made on site are worth the trip. If you like to sip on good micros, then this place is a must. Go out the Wyoming gate and down two or three lights to old Rt. 66, make a left. Kelly's is on the left about 2 miles or so down the road. Great Mexican for lunch or dinner plus great drinks all at a reasonable price- Cervantes. Go out the Gibson gate, about three blocks on the right. The bartenders take good care of the Air Force guys. ~Don't get suckered into the La Quinta trap if you do not HAVE to be 5 min from base. Look up JFTR section on selecting alternative lodging as long as it is equal to or less than that chosen by Billeting. Call SouthWest Suites and make a reservation for a 2 bedroom apt up in the NorthEast (the nice, driveby-free part of ABQ) and pay the SAME as a La Quinta. The drive to base is about 22min once you know where you are going (long TDY) and 30 if you are just taking the easy way. The nice (and hot) SouthWest Suites lady will cough up 50 bones as a headhunter fee so if you have buds coming down tell them to call you by name and make sure she knows where to send the check. Oh yeah, you get 2x week maid service too.

Seymour-Johnson AFB, NC - Overnight at Seymour, we stayed at the Jameson Inn, www.jamesoninns.com , in Goldsboro.  It was a nice resort. (919) 778-9759  Nice place, only 10 min drive from the base, and right next to a Outback Steakhouse and Ruby Tuesday's.  Staff was very nice, and they have a good (and free) continental breakfast in the lobby.  Across the highway (10 min walk) is a WalMart SuperCenter and a couple other restaurants.  You also might want to check out the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Goldsboro.  They looked decent and they're right across the street from the same Wally World.

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